Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ABUJA1084
2003-06-19 18:16:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:  

NIGERIA: OBASANJO SEEKING U.S. APPROVAL FOR GON

Tags:  PREL MOPS PHUM LI SL NI ECOWAS 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001084 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2013
TAGS: PREL MOPS PHUM LI SL NI ECOWAS
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: OBASANJO SEEKING U.S. APPROVAL FOR GON
OFFER OF ASYLUM TO TAYLOR


REF: ABUJA 1078


CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR HOWARD F. JETER; REASONS 1.5 (B)
AND (D).


C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001084

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2013
TAGS: PREL MOPS PHUM LI SL NI ECOWAS
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: OBASANJO SEEKING U.S. APPROVAL FOR GON
OFFER OF ASYLUM TO TAYLOR


REF: ABUJA 1078


CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR HOWARD F. JETER; REASONS 1.5 (B)
AND (D).



1. (C) On the afternoon of June 19, President Obasanjo
summoned me and acting British High Commissioner, Charles
Bird to the Statehouse for a discussion on Liberia. Also
present were National Security Advisor LTG (ret.) Aliyu
Mohammed and Presidential Advisor for International Affairs
Ad'Obe Obe.



2. (C) Obasanjo began by recounting Nigeria's role at the
recent Accra ECOWAS summit, noting that he, Kufuor and
other Heads of State had met privately with Taylor, telling
him he had to leave Liberia. Obasanjo said Taylor
understood and agreed to a three-step transitional program
(REFTEL).



3. (C) Obasanjo also noted that he had discussed his
asylum offer with President Bush and Prime Minister Blair
at the G-8 Evian Summit. According to Obasanjo, President
Bush did not respond to the proposal, but promised to get
back to Obasanjo. Obasanjo said he was still willing to
offer asylum to Taylor if the U.S., U.K. and U.N. agree.
He also heard that all Liberian political parties would
request the Special Court (SCSL) to suspend the indictment
against Taylor in the interest of peace and reconciliation
in Liberia.



4. (C) President Obasanjo then asked for our governments'
likely views. Bird said he suspected Liberia would be the
subject of Obasanjo's summons and had been in touch with
London just before coming to the Villa. He said HMG was
still considering its stance on the matter, but its initial
position was that the indictment was a decision undertaken
by the SCSL; therefore the U.K. would defer to the Court on
the asylum proposal. Bird said he would go back to London
for a definitive answer. I told Obasanjo I was unsure of
Washington's position but that we would report the his
request for a USG position on the asylum offer and get back
to him as soon as possible. I asked Obasanjo about UNSYG
Kofi Annan's response. He said that Annan said the U.N had
no power over the SCSL and, therefore, would defer to it.



5. (C) Obasanjo said Nigeria would make the sacrifice of
accepting Taylor because his removal from Liberia could be
the most important single step toward peace in West Africa.
His motive, he said, was to save lives in Liberia and,
perhaps, beyond. Obasanjo believes that if Taylor feels
compelled to remain in Liberia because of the war crimes
charges, he will fight to the end, even if that means
sacrificing his own life. Moreover, Taylor will not
hesitate to spend others' lives in the process. Taylor
said as much to the Heads of State in Accra, Obasanjo
recalled. Obasanjo said, "if (Taylor) is forced to stay,
he will fight dirty." Obasanjo's fear is that an
increasingly desperate Taylor will foment violence and seek
to destabilize neighboring countries including Guinea,
Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire.



6. (C) Finally, Obasanjo said there was little else he
could do to help resolve the problems in Liberia if his
suggestion of asylum for Taylor is rejected. I asked
Obasanjo about a comment he made in a prior conversation
that Taylor said he was willing to step down but wanted to
stay in Liberia. Obasanjo considered the suggestion a non-
starter.



7. (C) COMMENT: Obasanjo seemed to be in a hurry to get a
response back from us. I assured him that I would try to
get Washington's views as soon as possible. I request
Washington's urgent guidance on how to respond to
Obasanjo's proposal and inquiry. END COMMENT.
JETER